Shoe sole protector

ABSTRACT

An illustrated view of an exemplary sole protector device for extending the life of an outsole and heel is presented. The sole protector device is easy to place on a shoe and keeps the sole of the shoe free of dirt, mud, grime, etc. The sole protector fits over the sole of a shoe. The sole protector has a bottom that is a traction surface. The sole protector may be any color or have patters, designs, emblems, etc. The sole protector further is reusable, custom made to fit, made of a silicon material, waterproof and stretchable. The sole protector may have a light, such as an LED, that is powered by solar power and controlled by an actuator such as a switch.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to shoes. More particularly, it relates todevices to protect soles of shoes.

BACKGROUND

A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the humanfoot, while the wearer is doing various activities. Shoes are also usedas an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has variedenormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearanceoriginally being tied to function. Additionally, fashion has oftendictated many design elements, such as whether shoes have very highheels or flat ones. Contemporary footwear in the 2010s varies widely instyle, complexity and cost. Basic sandals may consist of only a thinsole and simple strap and be sold for a low cost. High fashion shoesmade by famous designers may be made of expensive materials, use complexconstruction and sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars a pair.Some shoes are designed for specific purposes, such as boots designedspecifically for mountaineering or skiing.

Traditionally, shoes have been made from leather, wood or canvas, but inthe 2010s, they are increasingly made from rubber, plastics, and otherpetrochemical-derived materials. Though the human foot is adapted tovaried terrain and climate conditions, it is still vulnerable toenvironmental hazards such as sharp rocks and temperature extremes,which shoes protect against. Some shoes are worn as safety equipment,such as steel-soled boots which are required on construction sites.

The basic anatomy of a shoe is recognizable, regardless of the specificstyle of footwear.

All shoes have a sole, which is the bottom of a shoe, in contact withthe ground. Soles can be made from a variety of materials, although mostmodern shoes have soles made from natural rubber, polyurethane, orpolyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounds. Soles can be simple—a singlematerial in a single layer—or they can be complex, with multiplestructures or layers and materials. When various layers are used, solesmay consist of an insole, midsole, and an outsole.

The insole is the interior bottom of a shoe, which sits directly beneaththe foot under the footbed (also known as sock liner). The purpose ofinsole is to attach to the lasting margin of the upper, which is wrappedaround the last during the closing of the shoe during the lastingoperation. Insoles are usually made of cellulosic paper board orsynthetic non-woven insole board. Many shoes have removable andreplaceable footbeds. Extra cushioning is often added for comfort (tocontrol the shape, moisture, or smell of the shoe) or health reasons (tohelp deal with differences in the natural shape of the foot orpositioning of the foot during standing or walking).

The outsole is the layer in direct contact with the ground. Dress shoesoften have leather or resin rubber outsoles; casual or work-orientedshoes have outsoles made of natural rubber or a synthetic material likepolyurethane. The outsole may comprise a single piece, or may be anassembly of separate pieces, often of different materials. On someshoes, the heel of the sole has a rubber plate for durability andtraction, while the front is leather for style. Specialized shoes willoften have modifications on this design: athletic or so-called cleatedshoes like soccer, rugby, baseball and golf shoes have spikes embeddedin the outsole to improve traction.

The midsole is the layer in between the outsole and the insole,typically there for shock absorption. Some types of shoes, like runningshoes, have additional material for shock absorption, usually beneaththe heel of the foot, where one puts the most pressure down. Some shoesmay not have a midsole at all.

The heel is the bottom rear part of a shoe. Its function is to supportthe heel of the foot. They are often made of the same material as thesole of the shoe. This part can be high for fashion or to make theperson look taller, or flat for a more practical and comfortable use. Onsome shoes the inner forward point of the heel is chiseled off, afeature known as a “gentleman's corner”. This piece of design isintended to alleviate the problem of the points catching the bottom oftrousers. A heel is the projection at the back of a shoe which restsbelow the heel bone. The shoe heel is used to improve the balance of theshoe, increase the height of the wearer, alter posture or otherdecorative purposes. Sometimes raised, the high heel is common to a formof shoe often worn by women, but sometimes by men too. See also stilettoheel.

The upper helps hold the shoe onto the foot. In the simplest cases, suchas sandals or flip-flops, this may be nothing more than a few straps forholding the sole in place. Closed footwear, such as boots, trainers andmost men's shoes, will have a more complex upper. This part is oftendecorated or is made in a certain style to look attractive. The upper isconnected to the sole by a strip of leather, rubber, or plastic that isstitched between it and the sole, known as a welt.

Most uppers have a mechanism, such as laces, straps with buckles,zippers, elastic, Velcro straps, buttons, or snaps, for tightening theupper on the foot. Uppers with laces usually have a tongue that helpsseal the laced opening and protect the foot from abrasion by the laces.Uppers with laces also have eyelets or hooks to make it easier totighten and loosen the laces and to prevent the lace from tearingthrough the upper material. An aglet is the protective wrapping on theend of the lace.

The vamp is the front part of the shoe, starting behind the toe,extending around the eyelets and tongue and towards back part of theshoe.

The medial is the part of the shoe closest to a person's center ofsymmetry, and the lateral is on the opposite side, away from theircenter of symmetry. This can be in reference to either the outsole orthe vamp. Most shoes have shoelaces on the upper, connecting the medialand lateral parts after one puts their shoes on and aiding in keepingtheir shoes on their feet.

The toe box is the part that covers and protects the toes. People withtoe deformities, or individuals who experience toe swelling (such aslong-distance runners) usually require a larger toe box.

Shoes often wear on the outsole and heel. The outsole and the heel arecaused by their continual contact with the ground and the wear can beexasperated by the stride and walking style of the wearer. The outsoleand heel normally are worn prior to the upper shoe is worn.

In light of the foregoing and other problems not described, there is aneed for a protector or save for the soles of shoes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustrated view of an exemplary sole protector.

FIG. 1B is an illustrated view of a shoe with the exemplary soleprotector device shown in FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in someembodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,”“having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictatesotherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list.

“Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,”“by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,”“in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,”“of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,”“preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,”“substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,”“to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptorsherein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree,unless context dictates otherwise.

Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments asillustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described inconnection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is nointent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On thecontrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications andequivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, orcombinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined,without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein.

Referring to FIG. 1A, an illustrated view of an exemplary sole protectordevice 100 for extending the life of an outsole and heel is presented.The sole protector device 100 is easy to place on a shoe and keeps thesole of the shoe free of dirt, mud, grime, etc.

The sole protector device 100 is preferably reusable. The sole protectordevice 100 is preferably custom made to fit a foot/shoe of anindividual, however the sole save device may come in standard industrysizes, such as, but not limited to, men's 8, men's 10.5, women's 7.5,women's 6, child's 4, etc. The sole protector device 100 is preferablymade of a silicon material, however other materials are herebycontemplated, including, but not limited to, rubber, vinyl, etc. Thesole protector device 100 is preferably waterproof. The material for thesole protector device 100 is preferably stretchable, such that the soleprotector device 100 will fit snuggly over the sole of the shoe.

The sole protector device 100 has an inside 101, a side 103 and a bottom104.

The inside 101 of the sole protector device 100 preferably has a linedmaterial, such as, fleece, wool, suede, etc. The inside 101 of the soleprotector device 100 is accessible to a shoe of a user by access throughan opening in a top 105 of the sole protector 100.

The bottom 104 of the sole protector device 100 preferably has atraction surface, however other surfaces are hereby contemplated,including, but not limited to, studded surface, patterned surface, etc.

The side 103 of the sole protector 100 preferably has a coloredexterior, such as white, black, pink, purple, blue, orange, etc.,however other exterior are hereby contemplated, including, but notlimited to, patterns, emblems, patterns, art, pictures, writing, etc.

Optionally and/or additionally, the sole protector 100 may have a light(not shown). The light of the sole protector 100 is preferably a lightemitting diode (LED) lamp, however other lamps are hereby contemplated,including, but not limited to, liquid crystal display (LCD),fluorescent, etc. The light of the sole protector 100 is preferablypowered by a power source (not shown). The power source is preferablysolar power, however other sources of power are hereby contemplated,including, but not limited to, rechargeable battery, disposable battery,etc. The light of the sole protector 100 has an actuator (not shown).The actuator is preferably a switch, however other actuators are herebycontemplated, including, but not limited to, button, toggle, applicationon a computing device, etc.

Moving now to FIG. 1B, an illustrated view of a shoe 200 with theexemplary sole protector device 100 shown in FIG. 1A is presented.

The sole protector device 100 is stretched by pulling on the side 103 ofthe sole protector device 100 such that either a toe portion 201 or aheel portion 202 may be inserted into the inside 101 of the soleprotector device 100. The sole protector device 100 is the stretched tosuch that the rest of the shoe 200 is encapsulated by the sole protectordevice 100.

In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects andembodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) accordingto respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” orother such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.)more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may eitheridentify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might becalled “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, inrespective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to whichthey refer or other features described above.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specificexemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies arerepresentative of more general processes and/or devices and/ortechnologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filedherewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.

The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied toother embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features ofother embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope ofthe present invention.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sole saving device for protecting a sole of ashoe, the device comprising: a bottom, the bottom for pressing against aground; a side, the side for protecting a side of the sole; a top, thetop having an opening; and an inside, the inside accessible by theopening in the top, wherein the sole of the shoe is coupled to theinside of the device by the side of the device.
 2. The device of claim1, wherein the device being reusable.
 3. The device of claim 1, whereinthe device being custom made to fit.
 4. The device of claim 1, whereinthe device being made of a silicon material.
 5. The device of claim 1,wherein the device being stretchable.
 6. The device of claim 1, whereinthe inside being lined with a material.
 7. The device of claim 6,wherein the material being fleece.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein thebottom having a traction surface.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein theside being any color.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the side havinga pattern.
 11. The device of claim 1, wherein the side having an emblem.12. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprising: alight, the light having a power source and an actuator; wherein thepower source being for powering the light; and wherein the actuatorbeing for actuating the light.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein thelight being a light emitting diode (LED) lamp.
 14. The device of claim12, wherein the power source being solar power.
 15. The device of claim12, wherein the actuator being a switch.
 16. The device of claim 1,wherein the device being waterproof.